NATO detainee transfers resume in Afghanistan

Kabul: The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has resumed handing over Taliban detainees to the Afghanistan’s government, after a gap of nearly four months.

According to the Washington Post, the transfers began again in January after three rounds of inspections by NATO officials at 12 of the 16 facilities where, according to a UN report released publicly in October, some detainees were subjected to “systematic” torture.

The Afghan government has replaced the directors of several of the facilities in recent months as part of an effort to prevent the abuses, Major Carl Dick, a US military officer involved in inspections and re-certifications, told reporters.

“We see no gross violations of human rights,” he said of the 12 facilities that have been listed as “certified”.

The coalition is monitoring those detentions, along with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to make sure abuses do not occur again, he said.

If they do recur, the coalition will be forced to again halt the transfer of detainees, he said.